


sit down with me (tell me no lies)

by zimnokurw



Category: Hit the Floor (TV)
Genre: Engaged Jude/Zero, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Family Reunions, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:53:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23931112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zimnokurw/pseuds/zimnokurw
Summary: Laura gets a phone call, meets with Jude Kinkade, and reunites with her big brother.
Relationships: Jude Kinkade & Laura (Hit the Floor), Jude Kinkade/Zero | Gideon, Zero | Gideon & Laura (Hit the Floor)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 134





	sit down with me (tell me no lies)

**Author's Note:**

> hashtag, i wrote this in quarantine. i know that about two people will read it cuz zude is heavily underrated, but it needed to be written and i enjoyed it, so fuck it. (there are no swear words in the fic)
> 
> i hope u guys are staying safe out there x

When Laura first gets the call, she thinks it’s some not-funny joke. She suspects it’s just a cruel dream she’s going to wake up from. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all.

There’s a man calling her. His voice gives away that he’s an adult, but he doesn't sound too old. He’s probably in the prime of his life. 

He introduces himself as Jude Kinkade and he tells her, in careful voice, that he calls on behalf of her brother. He says that her brother found her with the help of a private investigator and that he would like to meet with her if that’s what she wants too. 

The man at the other end of the call sounds sincere, he sounds serious and he sounds like he cares about her reaction. His every word is chosen carefully, well-thought-out. He has an answer for every one of her questions and he’s patient with her. 

That’s why, when he offers a meeting over coffee to talk about the details face-to-face, she says ‘yes’ without so much as a breath.

She visits her parents - those that adopted her, that is - the very same day she gets the call. She speeds to the car and turns on the engine to drive to them as soon as the call ends and she gathers all her thoughts. The man - ‘call me Jude’ - didn’t tell her much about Gideon, just that he’s doing well. He promised to explain everything at their meeting. She has to see her parents nonetheless and tell them about the phone call. About her big brother and the possibility of seeing him again.

-

When she walks into the small, but cozy coffee shop she used to work at, she’s good 15 minutes early, but she was too nervous to just sit at home and wait any longer. She was taken away from her brother when she was eleven, she’s waited long enough.

She smiles at the woman behind the counter - Anna - as she walks in and she thinks that she shouldn’t be so sure this is going to work out. She shouldn’t let herself feel so much hope she could later drown in disappointment when it didn’t work out. Yes, she knows that this meeting isn’t a dream and she knows that this isn’t a joke either, but it still can be a misunderstanding. It still might be some kind of mistake and she knows that having taken away the possibility of seeing Gideon again would break her.

Laura shakes her head to ground herself. She forces herself to shake away all the bad thoughts and focus on _right_ _now_.

She takes a few steps to choose a table to sit at and wait for Mr. Kinkade (‘call me Jude, really’), but when she’s about to stop and sit down there’s a man looking right at her and standing up from his table next to the window but the farthest one from the door. 

“Laura?” he asks, holding his hand out so she does the same and they shake their hands as a greeting. “I’m Jude, we talked on the phone.” he says in an all-business voice, but there’s a soft smile on his lips and somehow, it makes Laura relax a bit and she smiles back at him.

“Yes, it’s really nice to meet you.” she answers, proud that her voice didn’t stick in her throat. 

The man gestures to the chair at the table, so she takes it as a wordless ‘please, sit down’ and she does that. He also follows his own invitation and sits across from her.

Laura is impressed by the fact that she came 15 minutes early and Mr. Kinkade was already waiting. And must’ve sat there for a few minutes, because there’s already a cup of coffee in front of him and it’s half empty. His brown hair is mussed too as if he ran his fingers through it over a dozen times. He’s also wearing a white henley shirt with a greyish blazer on top of it. It looks casual, yet elegantly. If this meeting wasn’t about Gideon, she’d probably spend a few more minutes taking in how cute the guy seems, but her big brother comes first. Even if there was Billie Eilish suddenly coming into the coffee shop - she wouldn’t care as long as Jude had something to say about Gideon. 

She’s not sure when and for how long she zoned out, but right now there’s Anna standing at her and Jude’s table. “Hi, Laura. Your usual?” she asks with a bright smile that almost never leaves her face.

“Yes, thank you.” Laura smiles back, nodding.

“Put it on my tab, please.” speaks up Mr. Kinkade before Anna can walk away.

“No, I can pay for myself.”

“I insist.”

“Let the man pay if he wants to.” laughs slightly Anna, leaning closer to Laura and pretending to whisper. Then, she walks away, before anyone can say anything.

“Thank you.” Laura says to the man sitting across from her because he didn’t have to do that. He’s really kind so far and the woman finds herself being more at ease with every second.

“Oh, Gid would have my head if he heard I let you pay for your coffee.” the man laughs slightly. Laura suspects it’s his way to start the conversation about her brother and brighten the mood at the same time. 

“Yes.” she answers, even though there wasn’t any question. “Gideon. I- I’m not sure what to ask, what to say. I was really surprised when you called. I tried to find him myself some time ago, but the PI I hired said that he just disappeared.” she says, needing an explanation, needing answers, and needing to hear where Gideon is and why didn’t he come to this meeting himself.

“That’s what we heard from our PI at first too.” Jude nods, clearly understanding her confusion. His voice is still business-like, but there’s something reassuring and warm in his tone. “Your last known foster home was all over the news at the time and the state had to shut it down. When you were taken out of care, no paperwork was filed. You basically dropped out of the system, so there was nothing even after going through _all_ the legal channels.” the man explains. “I’m not surprised your PI wasn’t able to find Gideon if that was how he worked too.” he assures her. “However, our guy might have bent some laws, that’s how he was able to track you down.” 

Laura’s a bit amused at Jude’s description of simply _breaking the law_ , but hey- if her PI said that there’s a chance to find her brother outside the law, she would’ve agreed too. Maybe the man she hired simply wasn’t as good as the one Gideon found. Or maybe he didn’t want to break the law. Maybe he didn’t think she would even afford to break the law. After all, taking that kind of risk must’ve had its price.

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to offend you but why am I meeting with you and not Gideon?” Laura asks before she can stop herself. She wants answers and she wants them now. Besides, she’s usually straight-to-the-point kind of person, the fact that she’s nervous and stressed, and _anxious_ isn’t gonna change that.

At that moment Anna decides to bring Laura her coffee, so the woman thanks her and she sees Jude give Ann a small smile with a nod of his head. Obviously, it’s his way of expressing gratitude without speaking.

When Anna leaves, he turns to Laura again. “Gideon can be a little dense sometimes.” Jude begins, sounding apologetic, but there’s a soft smile on his face. “He wanted you to have a choice - whether you want to meet him or not. He figured it would be better if I saw you first, explained the situation to you and you made a decision knowing all the facts.”

“Situation?” Laura asks, frowning. Did he decide to become a serial killer and isn’t sure if she’d like to hang out with one?

“Are you up-to-date with basketball these days, Laura?” Jude asks, confusing her even more, and reaching for his drink to take a sip.

The answer to the question is a big **no** . She remembers that Gideon used to _love_ basketball. He watched any game he was able to - obviously Carla and Leo didn’t care whether it was important to him or not, but sometimes the small TV they had wasn’t occupied by anyone, so Gee-Gee (as Laura used to call him) and she would sit down and watch for as long as they could. Laura wasn’t a fan, but she liked to sit next to her big brother and witness how invested in the game he was. How suddenly all the worries disappeared from his young face and how he looked passionate and interested and _focused_ on the ball flying from one side of the court to the other. 

She remembers the young boy playing basketball with older kids but not letting them see him as the youngest one. How he ran faster than at least half of his opponents and how high and far was he able to throw the ball even though he was the smallest one on the court. How after the game he’d always ask if he can borrow the ball to train some more and how he’d promise to give it back as soon as he’s done. 

She remembers that time when one of the older foster kids, Jake, brought home a ball - not the one for playing basketball but soccer - and Gideon didn’t care anyway, using it as if that was a basketball.

And because of all those memories - no, she couldn’t force herself to sit through a game of basketball. She wouldn’t be able to watch more than a minute without wondering _how would Gee-Gee react to this foul?_ or _how excited would he be to see that three-point shot?_

“No, why?”

Did he fulfill his dreams about playing basketball professionally? She’s too scared to ask that out loud. She always wished him that. Even after they were separated and even after all those years apart. But wouldn’t she know if that worked out for him? Yes, she avoids everything basketball related but her dad watches a game every now and then. If he heard a player with the same last name as Laura and first name ‘Gideon’, he’d tell her about that. She talked about her brother too many times for the man to just take it as a coincidence.

“Gideon is a professional basketball player.” Jude answers, his voice once again back to the all-business tone. Laura doesn’t know if she should laugh, grin, or ask something else. The confusion must be visible on her face because the man continues. “Nobody knows his real name - even people like his Coach, it was his choice from the beginning of his career. He goes by Zero.” explains Kinkade and Laura feels the anger from her childhood all over again.

“He kept this stupid nickname?” she has to stop herself from screaming this question, but it still comes out harsh. She _hated_ Carla and Leo for calling her brother like that. She had punched them a few times for that, even. She stopped only when Gideon asked her for about the tenth time. When he explained that seeing her being punished for defending him was more painful than any stupid nickname could be.

“ _‘I_ _showed them how big Zero could be’_ , were his exact words when he was explaining it to me.” Laura hears and she smiles because it means that her brother didn’t change that much since she last saw him. He was always competitive, up for a challenge, always wanted to prove people wrong. 

“Wait, you said that nobody knows his real name. But you do?” the woman frowns at Jude. “You said you’re not the PI that tracked me down, but you didn’t say who you are.”

“My bad.” the brunet smiles apologetically. “I’m Executive Vice President for the Team your brother plays in.” that’s high in the Baseball Team’s hierarchy, that much Laura knows. Her eyes widen in surprise at that and Jude continues. “I used to be Gideon’s Agent, though.” 

“Oh.” comes out of her mouth so she decides to take a sip of her coffee.

“The thing is- I’m not gonna sugarcoat it.” the EVP says and Laura watches him carefully, putting the cup with her drink back at the table. “Gideon is the Captain of one of the best Basketball Teams in the country. He has his own brand, his own line of underwear, offers to write biographies. He has fans all over the world and is interesting to the media. If you were to be a part of his life, the media would find out about you. And Gideon avoids talking about his past, so his little sister appearing out of nowhere would be a great story to all the stations and papers.” the man explains with a serious face and in a dead-serious voice. It would probably cause a shiver to run down Laura’s spine if she wasn’t as motivated to meet her brother as she is.

She wonders how the hell she never found him if he’s so famous. If she at least watched sports highlights with her dad once in a while! “I understand, but it’s my brother and I want to see him no matter the consequences.” she answers in a firm voice. And as soon as she does, Jude’s face breaks into a wide but genuine grin. 

“Gid will be thrilled to hear that.”

“Where does he live?” she asks, before she even registers the thought in her head. She’s just really curious about what life he lives. She thought about him ever since they were separated, she created thousands of different scripts for their reunion. She came up with thousands of different lifestyles he would be leading. And she’s really curious where did he end up. How far or how near each other are they living.

“LA.” answers simply Jude and Laura doesn’t find herself surprised at that. In most of her scenarios their reunion happens in Los Angeles - maybe because that’s where they saw each other last time, maybe because Gideon always talked about _how cool would it be to play professional basketball in LA, Lulu!_ (That was one of his two favorite nicknames for her - Lulu. She used to hate it, but now she would give anything to hear him say that again.)

“I want to meet him.” she says, taking another sip of her coffee.

“Of course. When would it work for you?” asks Jude and she knows that she should think it through, she knows she should talk with her parents and sister about that, and she should make some kind of plan. She _knows_ all that, but what she knows even better is that she wants to see her brother and that he is just a little bit over 2 500 miles away from her.

“Now.” she answers in a confident voice and she stands up, not even caring that there’s one-third of her free coffee left in the pastel blue cup she always gets when she comes to Anna’s coffee shop.

“N-now?” repeats Jude, but when Laura looks back after taking two steps, she sees him reaching for a wallet, so she just continues her walk trusting that he will follow her as soon as he pays.

She flashes Ann a smile as she opens the door and leaves the coffee shop, thinking whether driving to LA will take 40 hours or even more. She tries her best not to think that she doesn’t have any clothes or a toothbrush with her to take for this spontaneous trip. She assures herself that at least she has her phone and a wallet and that she has all the most important documents and also her phone changer in her car. She already makes a list of questions she will ask Jude about her big brother while they will be driving practically across the country.

-

All the plans for a long and exhausting road trip are thrown out the window as soon as Jude says that he flew to Boston in a private jet and that this was his way back home too.

Jude calls the pilot of the jet that he needs a ride sooner than expected, so Laura still has time to drive to her house and pack a few most important things in a duffel bag, while the man deals with taking care of the flight.

-

Flying to Los Angeles instead of driving means that they will be there much sooner. The pilot said something about 5 hours? Laura isn’t sure, she was freaking out a bit at the realism of the situation. 

She was supposed to meet her brother for the first time after seventeen long years. She was eleven and he was thirteen when they saw each other last time. Now they are both adults - obviously they had to change somehow. What is new about Gideon? What differences will he notice in Laura? Will this be awkward at first? What if they won’t have anything to talk about as soon as they catch up about the past? 

Laura was growing more nervous than excited with every second and _somehow_ Jude had to see it because she’s in the middle of wondering how she will even fit in Gideon’s new life when the man pulls her out of her mind.

At first he just starts talking by himself, telling her a story about the very much same jet they are flying in right now. More of a misunderstanding on board.

Then, he asks her a few questions about her life. About Mellisa and Dominic that adopted her and now are the best parents she could ask for, and about Mia - their daughter and Laura’s one year older sister. He asks about BU and tells her how excited Gideon was after the talk with the private investigator about her. How he all but yelled out _‘She_ _drives a hybrid!’_ among other things, with a pride pouring out of his voice. How this was the kind of pride that Jude didn’t see in him after any of the won games. 

And then, in a reassuring voice he says that if she has any questions, he will try his best to answer them. And she just loses herself in the opportunity.

“How long did he stay with Leo and Carla?” — “Until he left for college.”

“Where was he before LA?” — “Ohio.”

“What Team is he the Captain of?” — “LA Devils.”

“Is he married, dating someone, has kids?” — “He’s engaged.”

And Laura wants to keep asking questions _because she just started_ _for_ _fuck’s sake_! But it suddenly hits her just how mature her brother must be right now. How big he must’ve grown and how he’s not Gee-Gee anymore but _Gideon_. It hits her just how much she missed in his life. How she wasn’t there for his first crush to embarrass him or to give him some tips for planning a date. How she wasn’t there when he was first walking into the court about to play as a professional basketball player just like he dreamed. How she wasn’t there after a lost game to just sit with him and assure him that one game doesn’t define his career and that the next week he will rock. How she wasn’t there for him meeting the love of his life and how she wasn’t there to help him choose an engagement ring.

“Laura, are you okay?” she hears Jude’s concerned voice, so she shakes her head and she wipes off her face the few tears she didn’t even know she shed.

“I’m just thinking.” she answers and smiles at the man sitting - again - across from her. “When I last saw my brother he was an angry kid who felt the need to protect me from everything. He was mad at the rest of the world, and he could catch a break joining older kids and playing basketball with them. And now he’s an adult, most likely responsible man, professional player and about to get married.” explains Laura. “I think I’m scared that I don’t know him anymore.” she says out loud as soon as she reaches a conclusion.

“That’s alright.” answers reassuringly Jude with a soft smile. “It would be more concerning if you didn’t have all those thoughts in your head right now, don’t you think?” he asks but continues before she can answer. “The fact that you’re scared means that you care.”

“We just missed so much in each other’s lives, you know?” Laura shrugs. She was adopted, she got into Boston University, she graduated, she had her heart first broken, she got a job... - and her big brother wasn’t there for any of that. But she used to wonder what would be his reaction to any of this. How proud would he be at her graduation or would he sit with her and ice cream after she found out Brendon cheated on her?

“You are so much like Gideon it’s incredible.” says Jude, shaking his head and he seems to be almost in awe. Laura tilts her head to the left, to just stare at the man and listen to him. “He was _so_ excited when our PI found you, and when he got Gid more information about you? I thought he’d fly up into the air any second. But with each time he thought about you two meeting, he was getting more nervous, more anxious. That’s why he came up with the idea that you wouldn’t want to meet him because he’s got the media following him around. He was simply scared of everything that would go wrong seeing you and he was looking for an out.” Jude stops for a second, takes a breath, and looks at Laura intensively. His eyes screaming _it’s_ _important_. “I can count on the fingers of my hand how many times Gideon was that scared of something. And each of those times it was something very important, very personal, something new.” he explains and Laura is really grateful that she met with him first. “You are both worried about how your reunion is going to go. I mean- of course you are, how would you not be? And yes - it can go wrong. It can be awkward at first, you can feel uneasy, you can find hundreds of differences between Gideon today and Gideon you saw years ago. But the thing is, he’s one and the same Gideon. He’s your big brother who fights for what he wants and what he wants right now is to have contact with his sister. So it may come naturally, it may not, but you will have each other and the rest of your lives to figure it out.” at this point Laura doesn’t even care that she’s got tears running down her both cheeks. Jude is probably one of the greatest people she met in her life and she feels physically ready to open Facebook or Twitter or even both and start Jude Kinkade’s fan club. 

“Thank you. You know, I’m really happy that Gideon sent you to meet me, after all.” Laura says, wiping the tears off her face and she smiles at the man across from her.

“I am too.” he answers, smiling back and she just _sees_ that he means it. “It’s really great meeting you.” he adds right before they are informed that they are going to land soon. And Laura gets excited again.

-

As soon as they land, they both thank the pilot for the flight and they get out of the jet. Laura follows Jude to his car and she knows practically nothing about any vehicles, but she knows that the Navy Blue car in front of her is a Porsche. Jude - like a gentleman - takes her duffel bag and throws it into the trunk and then they finally get in the car.

Before they leave the parking space, Jude looks at his watch and seems to be thinking for a few seconds. “Gid is either home already or should be in a few minutes if his practice went right with the schedule.” he says to Laura and then starts the car. 

Really, Laura is _so_ grateful that Jude is the one that met with her instead of her brother. The man is obviously a great friend to Gideon, seeing as he trusted him with his name, told him about his childhood and about Laura… Gideon trusted him with meeting Laura _first_.

And Laura is grateful that Gideon has someone like Jude in his life. The man cares about him, she just met him a few hours ago but it’s so obvious as if he had it tattooed on his forehead! And Jude is genuinely a good guy. All those soft smiles he sent her, all those reassuring words, the way he was able to see that something was going on in her mind and how he calmed her down before she could panic completely. Yes, Laura met the brunet about 6 hours ago, but it was just the first few minutes when she already noticed how he was patient with her, respectful, caring. How he didn’t lie or sugarcoat anything. And all the support he gave her when she was freaking out on the flight?

  
  


Jude drives fast because it’s Porsche and because it’s LA, and Laura doesn’t mind that at all. She just looks out and lets her gaze fall at every building, every restaurant, pub, or a billboard, and she takes it all in.

Ever since she left LA, she never got back. Not even for a visit, not a weekend trip. It always seemed pointless and she wouldn’t imagine it any different than _painful_. She left LA seventeen years ago and the city has certainly changed since then. It all looks more modern, more expensive, more impersonal. It’s astonishing, really, how time just passes by but everything changes around it - how people evolve and how nothing stays in the same place.

“Wait, is that-?” comes out of Laura’s mouth when she sees the street Jude drove into. She knows that street, of course she knows that street! Their foster house with Carla and Leo was here and there was a grocery store just a few minutes’ walk from the house. She also remembers the basketball court Gideon used to play at just two blocks away.

But it looks _so_ _much_ different now, she thinks when Jude presses a button hanging around his keys and the gate to the beautiful house in front of them opens. 

“Leo and Carla’s old house was supposed to be demolished. Gid bought it to build a new home here.” explains Jude out loud, but not looking at the woman next to him. “Make the neighborhood into something better. And when people saw that someone was about to move here... we didn’t even finish building the house and two more were already starting to appear.” the EVP says when Laura looks around as much as she can and she sees that besides her brother’s home there are four other houses. Newly built or just in progress.

The woman nods to herself and looks at her brother’s house when Jude parks on a driveway. The first thing she sees is a 2 car garage. It’s open and there’s only one car standing there - Laura hopes that it’s her brother’s because that would mean he’s already home.

Jude gets out of the car and Laura follows his steps. The building itself looks gorgeous. It’s big but it isn’t a mansion. Mansions are usually huge, lonely, impersonal even. Just by looking at the house in front of her the woman can tell that it’s a family home. It seems modern, the walls are in between white and beige but there are parts covered in wood and it makes it look warm and homey. 

There’s a wonderful outdoor space. Laura sees bright green grass, some flowers in the ground, and even a few cute trees as she walks towards the covered entry. 

When Jude pulls keys out of his pocket to open the door, Laura’s heart beats like crazy, but the man next to her looks at her and smiles reassuringly, so she just takes a deep breath, holds it for four seconds and then breaths out. Jude opens the tall door and gestures to Laura to enter first.

“Jud? How’d it go?” she hears a male’s voice when she takes her first step into the foyer and she _knows_ it’s Gideon’s voice. 

Obviously, it’s an adult man speaking right now and what she remembers is a thirteen-year-old boy, but it is unmistakably her brother’s voice. It just must’ve deepened when Gideon reached puberty. 

Now that she heard her big brother and how his voice matured, the realism of the situation gets to her again and she needs to control her anxiety before it gets out of hand and she does something embarrassing like crying. 

“It went really good.” Laura hears Jude’s answer and he looks at her. She figures that she’d like to have something in her hands right now to make herself busy and that’s when she remembers that she left her duffel bag in Jude’s trunk. 

But _that’s okay, she can go back for it later_. She thinks as she takes another step and turns to see that Jude is still next to her. She doesn’t want to walk first, not to seem like she suddenly owns the building, but she also doesn’t want to trail behind like a lost puppy.

“Yeah?” sounds her brother’s voice again and she thinks that he sounds happy and hopeful, but how could she know? She saw him last 17 years ago! 

Laura looks around the house a bit, curious about everything and she sees just how cozy it seems. From where she stands she can see the great room first, with a plush-looking couch, two armchairs, a coffee table, and a big TV screen hanging on the wall. The house has a lot of open space and she really likes it. She can even see outdoor living and a big garden with a pool and basketball court in the background! It all seems so _domestic_ and she’s so happy for her brother to have that in his life. Laura was adopted, after all, gained great parents and an amazing sister so she had a loving family, but from what Jude said - Gideon was a loner. 

“What did sh-?” Gideon continues to Jude but stops dead in his tracks when he and Laura walk closer and he can finally see them.

Laura also freezes and just looks at the man in front of her. He’s standing outside the kitchen, visibly tired after his practice, and with a water bottle in his right hand. 

The first thing she notes about Gideon is his hair color. The man used to have dark blonde hair, but now it’s really light - obviously bleached. His blue eyes look just like she remembered and there’s stubble on his face. He’s tall and has an athletic build, but that doesn’t really surprise her since he’s a professional basketball player. 

“Hi there, Lori.” he finally speaks up and Laura lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. He smiles softly at her and she remembers when he gave her the nickname ‘Lori’. She was ten at the time and decided that she was too old for ‘Lulu’. She hoped that this way she would get rid of the nickname she hated, but then G-G just nodded, smiled at her, and said that from now on she can be ‘Lori’.

“Gee-Gee.” she answers with a big smile on her own face and she can _feel_ the tears threatening to appear in her eyes. She doesn’t even care anymore though, because she’s here - she’s standing in front of her big brother and he’s opening his arms.

“C’mere.” he laughs slightly, waiting for her to hug him and at the moment he says it, she runs to him and embraces him with a strength she didn’t know she had in herself. 

Laura wraps her arms around Gideon as soon as she reaches him and when he does the same she closes her eyes, hiding her face in his chest and feeling safe and happy and _blessed even_.

Laura’s not sure how long they stay in that position - a few seconds? minutes? half an hour? She just keeps hugging her brother, crushing his lungs a bit as he holds her and keeps rubbing her back every once in a while.

When they finally pull away, Laura looks at Gideon’s face, mesmerizing him and he does the same. “Hi.” she says, wiping the tears off her face and she’s not sure if that’s just her or if G-G is crying a little bit himself.

“Look at you, all grown up.” the man shakes his head in disbelief.

“You’re the one to talk.” Laura answers, because while she is slightly-built, Gideon is really tall and muscular. 

Both Jude and her brother laugh at her response as the brunet walks closer to them with a soft smile on his face. “Oh, and by the way?” Laura begins and she grabs Jude’s left arm with her both hands. “Thank you for sending your friend to meet me. I already plan on stealing him and making him my own personal bestie.” she explains and Gideon looks amused one second and then confused another.

“Wait- no.” he shakes his head and looks at the brunet in front of him. “You didn’t tell her?”

“No, I mean- I didn’t know if tha-“ Laura watches with a frown and confusion as Jude tries to answer, but in the end Gideon interrupts him.

“Of course that would be okay, stupid.” the man says but there’s no heat behind the word ‘stupid’. It definitely isn’t meant as an insult. Inside joke, more likely. “Jude’s not just my friend.” Gideon explains to his sister. “He’s also my fiancé.” he adds, looking up at the brunet he’s talking about and smiling proudly. 

“Oh my God!” reacts quickly Laura, taking a step back from Jude to look at him but still holding onto his arm. “You’re going to be my brother-in-law?” she asks excitedly. “That’s so great!” she gives him a quick hug. When she pulls away, she turns to look at her brother and then at Jude again. “I am so happy for you guys!” 

”Thank you.”

Laura hugs her brother again, just because she can and she's already planning on harassing him to tell her how he and Jude met, fell in love, and who proposed. Oh, and she needs to see the ring! She steals a glance at Gideon’s palm and sees a band on the fourth finger on the left hand. It looks classical yet sophisticated, but Laura will have to take a closer look later. She remembers from the coffee shop, though, that there was something on Jude's hand. When she turns to him to check it while the two love birds grin at each other, she sees that the brunet has an identical ring as her brother. 

”How about you two go sit down and catch up, and I’ll make some tea?” speaks up Jude, looking at Laura and Gideon while suggesting it. ”We should also have some cookies.” he adds. 

“Huh?” Gideon looks at Laura expectantly, letting her have a say in this.

“Sure, just remember to join us.” the woman smiles and Jude nods.

He takes a step to walk into the kitchen and start preparing drinks when Gideon stops him, wrapping his arm around the brunet’s waist and pulling him into the kiss. Laura turns away, because she doesn’t want to watch her brother’s make-out session but she smiles slightly to herself. “Thanks.” she hears G-G’s soft voice, but it sounds like he’s thanking his fiancé for more than just the tea and cookies.

“Anytime.” answers Jude and Laura see him squeeze Gideon’s forearm in what seems like a reassuring gesture. 

“How about outdoor living? The weather is too good for sitting inside.” suggests her brother, taking a step in said direction and she just nods, following. 

They walk through the open space of the great room, kitchen, and dining room, about to walk out on the covered lanai when Laura realizes that they need to talk about their past. This isn’t really her favorite subject for the first conversation with her brother, but she wants to know what happened to the man throughout all those years. She also knows that the sooner they catch up on everything, the sooner it will be behind them, and then they can talk about whatever they’d like. 

Laura also realizes that she was so worried about things being awkward between her and Gideon and about feeling uncomfortable, but there wasn’t a moment when she felt out of place. They just saw each other, they hugged and it all clicked. As if they haven’t lost contact even for a week.

With that thought, and the feeling of pure happiness in her, Laura sits down on the comfortable couch and her big brother sits right next to her. Gideon looks at the woman with his blue, warm, and smiling eyes and she knows that she can do it. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> btw; I am SO mad that Zude was supposed to get married and have a daughter, but it didn't happen cuz the show was c a n c e l l e d. Jude and Gideon deserved better.


End file.
